Regional Promise Award would cover tuition for Pell-eligible students

Ohio University announced two major scholarship opportunities for its southern campus on Wednesday.

The first is the OHIO Regional Promise Award, Nicole Pennington, executive dean for regional higher education and dean for the southern campus in Ironton, told The Ironton Tribune.

“We will be starting this right away, in fall of ’22,” she said.

The program is for Pell-eligible first-year students with a minimum 3.0 high school GPA to cover the remaining cost of tuition and mandatory fees to earn either a four-year bachelor’s degree or two-year associate’s degree at one of OHIO’s five regional campuses, she said.

Pennington said the scholarship will be automatic for those students.

“They don’t have to do anything,” she said, stating it would go into effect to cover the gap not paid by a Pell grant. “All they need to do is fill out a FAFSA. Once that shows up, they’ll be notified.”

Pennington said this scholarship will also be available to out-of-state residents who choose to attend OUS.

The second scholarship being announced, Pennington said, is the One OHIO Scholarship, an optional, $5,000 renewable scholarship that would replace the OHIO Regional Promise Award for eligible students who begin on a regional campus and, after at least one successful year of study, wish to relocate to Athens to complete their degree.

Either scholarship requires continued consecutive enrollment at Ohio University, excluding summers.

Pennington said these scholarships will also be available to out-of-state residents who choose to attend OUS.

She said that both of these scholarships will be a boost to those who are working and raising families while attending schools.

“And it will prevent them from settling into debt,” she said.

Pennington said Ohio University offers flexible scheduling and works to meet the needs of graduating high school seniors in the area.

“We have excellent opportunities for them here, close to home,” she said.

Ohio University hosted a virtual announcement event in the afternoon, hosted by Pennington to discuss the scholarships.

One of the speakers during that event was Hugh Sherman, the university’s president.

“Ohio University is committed to making the college experience more accessible in every regional campus community we serve through the new OHIO Regional Promise program,” Sherman said. “This new program provides greater access to help our region’s students and families meet their educational goals without incurring unnecessary debt.”

Ohio University offers high education in Athens and at the Chillicothe, Lancaster, Zanesville, Southern and Eastern campuses, as well as centers in Dublin and Cleveland.

To be eligible for the OHIO Regional Promise for Fall 2022, students must apply to one of the regional campuses and submit 2022-23 FAFSA results to OHIO by May 15. For more information, visit ohio.edu/regional.